Chapter 3 - An Untenable Bargain
In the kitchen, the marble countertops gleamed under recessed halogen lights. Maya leaned over the sink, splashing cold water across her cheeks. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. If Damian called the police, she would go to jail, Mateo would miss his treatment, and Clara would be handed over to a rotation of indifferent corporate nannies. Everything she had worked to build since immigrating five years ago stood on the edge of a cliff.
Footsteps approached. Damian walked into the kitchen, his shirt unbuttoned another notch, sleeves pushed higher past the dark knotwork tattoos on his forearms. Clara was asleep in her nursery, the baby monitor clipped to his waistband humming with gentle static.
In his hand, he held a thin manila folder. He laid it flat on the marble island.
"Vance Therapeutics produces high-flux polysulfone dialyzers," Damian said, his tone clinical, stripping away emotion. "Three days ago, a transport truck bound for our South Side partner clinic was intercepted. Half a million dollars of specialized pediatric and young-adult filtration units disappeared."
"I don't know anything about that," Maya said instantly.
"I know you don't," Damian replied. "I had my investigator pull your call records two minutes ago while you were washing your face. The man you called isn't a distributor. His name is Marcus Reyes. He's a broker who fences stolen commercial medical hardware out of Cicero. He bought my crates, Maya. And he was trying to sell my own stolen stock back to you for twenty-eight hundred dollars."
May you like
The room seemed to tilt. "Marcus... he told me he was a retired nurse."
"Marcus is a predator who feeds on families trapped outside the insurance barrier," Damian said, his jaw tightening. "He knows what your brother needs because he monitors the clinic’s discharge list. He buys the supply, cuts off the hospital, and charges desperation rates to the families."
